Acculturative Stress, Social Interaction Anxiety and Perception of Teasing among University Students

Abstract

Present study has been carried out using the theoretical framework of Berry's Model of Acculturation developed by John W. Berry (1997). This study was planned to explore the effects of acculturative stress on social interaction anxiety as well as the moderating role of perception of teasing among students of other provinces. To carry out this study, a correlational research design was adopted. The data was collected using purposive sampling technique. A sample of 346 university residents from different provinces with age ranging from 17-27 years (M = 22.31, SD= 1.38) were selected for this study. Acculturative stress was measured using Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS), social interaction anxiety was measured using Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), and perception of teasing was measured using Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS). SPSS version 24 and Process by Hayes (Hayes, 2022) were used for analysis. The results of correlation analysis show that there is a positive association between acculturative stress and social interaction anxiety. Results of regression analysis reveal that social interaction anxiety significantly predicts acculturative stress among students of other provinces. Results of moderation analysis indicate that perception of teasing acts as moderator between acculturative stress and social interaction anxiety.